Appeals Court Questions Firing of Air Marshal Who Blew Whistle

A federal appeals court on Friday questioned the federal government’s decision to fire an air marshal for telling a reporter that marshals were being pulled from flights.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered the Merit Systems Protection Board to take another look at the case of fired air marshal Robert MacLean, finding that the board had misinterpreted the federal Whistleblower Protection Act.

Mr. MacLean was working as a federal air marshal in 2003 when he found out that the Transportation Security Administration was suspending . . .